41 AELIA

My heart twisted inside my chest. Caiden had his memories back and there was nothing either of us could do about it. I lay awake all night thinking of something to say to him, but nothing seemed right. This was not how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to let him go. We were not meant for one another. My stomach threatened to empty itself. I would have to hurt him again. Was this what the Fates meant when they said I’d have to choose? Would I have to erase his memories again? Had I picked the wrong man? Was Tharan not my destiny? Had I been hesitant to reveal my feelings to Tharan because deep down I knew Caiden would come back?

“Aelia?” Caiden whispered, just as dawn’s first light dribbled through the dirty windows of the cabin.

“Yes?” I said, trying to hide the shaking in my voice.

“We shared so much, and yet I only have your memories, not my own. They feel foreign inside of my head.”

“So you have my memories, my emotions, my feelings, but not your reactions?”

“Yes.”

I bit my lip. This was much worse. He would know every terrible thing I ever thought of him. Every moment of lust… of love. There was so much he wouldn’t understand. He’d know my ire, my disappointment, but not the reasons behind them. There was so much I wanted to say… to explain, but words evaded me. Where would I start?

“Oh Trinity. I’m so sorry, Caiden.”

“Yes, oh Trinity is right. It’s like I have only half of the story. What was I like? What did I feel?”

“I don’t know if I can help you with that, Caiden. I can only rewrite memories that are already there, not bring back ones I erased.”

“I don’t know if I want you to, Aelia,” he said in a voice that was barely a whisper. “At this point, I’m more worried about…” his eyes flitted upstairs, “than these memories.”

“You’re right. With these injuries and the iron blocking our magic we’ll never be able to get out of here.”

“If they’re taking us to the Court of Screams… I can only imagine what kinds of horrors await us there.”

I nodded but could not say more. With Erissa controlling the two mercenaries, I couldn’t be sure she wasn’t listening in on us through them. All I could do was shut my eyes and wait for Erissa to decide her next move.

Caiden’s head went limp on his neck as he faded into sleep, his body finally giving into exhaustion.

I lay still, listening for the creatures on the outside of the cabin. Were we already in the Court of Screams? Or somewhere else? I had never ventured this far north. I wouldn’t know what either looked like. Thorns grew in my throat. Caiden and I had been free of each other. We’d both moved on and now we were right back where we started. Both hurt and unable to do anything about it. Would I be able to pull those memories again?

Letting out a breath, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

“Open your eyes, Aelia.” My mother stood before me, surrounded by white light. Her black hair whipped in an invisible wind. “I don’t have much time, so listen closely. You will have to choose, and you may not even know you’re making the choice.”

“What?” I stammered.

“Things that were set in motion thousands of years ago will come to fruition soon. You must trust your instincts. The magic that lives inside you was never meant to be discovered. I thought if I could hide it somewhere no one would look, and it would be safe, but that is not how things worked out.” Her nostrils flared and she clasped her hands around my face. “You must be strong now. Stronger than you’ve ever been. Everything will work out as it should. Believe in the Trinity, Aelia. Let them guide you.” She faded into nothing.

I opened my eyes to find Alwin standing over me.

“Time to go,” he said. His brown eyes were glassy, and his brow was damp with sweat. He hadn’t drank last night and soon the shakes would set in. I could use this to my advantage.

“He can’t carry me. He’s going through withdrawal,” I said loud enough so Erissa would hear me.

She crossed the room and took the giant man’s face in her slim fingers.

“Ugh. You can’t travel like this, and we can’t wait. Not when we’re so close.” She turned to Baylis. “Undo her ankle shackles.”

Baylis did as she was told, and the lock sprang open.

“Now for these wounds.” Erissa opened the cupboard where she had pulled the parasites and grabbed a jar of red salve. “I need you two at your full strength for the ritual, so I’m going to heal you.”

Caiden and I exchanged skeptical glances.

Erissa took the paste into her hands and slowly spread it over Caiden’s wounds. The gashes healed and closed, like they had never been there at all.

“There we are, right as rain.” She turned to Baylis. “Fetch them some water, and hunt for our breakfast.”

Baylis huffed but did as commanded.

“Alwin, go with her. Make sure she is safe.” The glassy-eyed man followed Baylis out the door and into the morning mist.

“Now for you, Aelia.”

I gritted my teeth and winced, preparing for the burn of the salve, but instead a calming sensation flooded over my body.

“Why not use this for your face?” I asked, trying to look for a glimmer of any emotion on her face. Was she upset about her wounds? Could I connect with her this way?

“The wounds have to be rather fresh for this to work.”

“Why heal us at all?”

“The task ahead of us is dangerous and fraught with peril. I cannot have two injured captives slowing us down. And I’m sure you don’t know, but long ago, I was a healer. Perhaps there is still some of that in me.”

A rare moment of kindness in an otherwise cold existence. I pushed for more.

“Where is Gideon?” I asked.

“He is on an important mission. One that will change the fate of this world.”

Gideon was her favorite subject besides Crom Cruach. I hoped she’d get overzealous and spill more.

“Why him?” Maybe it was delirium or maybe I just didn’t care anymore making me so bold, either way I wanted answers.

The mage sighed.

“I served the Ironhearts for generations. They took me in after Crom, when no one else would. I hatched my plan then and waited… waited for a son to be born under the right set of stars, with just the right temperament to be what I needed him to be.” She rolled me over and rubbed the salve over where the arrow had pierced my back. “Of course, I planted the seeds to make sure each generation was crueler and more power-hungry than the rest.”

I sucked in a breath at the touch of her cold hands. The salve burned as it regrew my skin. I gritted my teeth, fighting to keep control of my thoughts.

“All for what? So you could reclaim some lost glory? Bring your lover back from the dead? Why let men control you like this?’

“Control me? No one controls me.” Power flared behind her green eyes. “I would be nothing without Crom. I owe my life to him. I will honor him in death as I did in life.”

“Let the dead stay dead, Erissa. No good can come of this.”

A smile curled on her lips.

“Says the woman who controls the army of the dead, but not for long.”

I arched a brow.

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t think I’d bring you all the way here and not have Baylis grab that little scepter of yours?”

Power surged through my body. My chest tightened with fear and anxiety. Did she know how to delink my blood from the scepter or was she just hoping she did? I pursed my lips. She would not get any more information from me.

She pulled the scepter from Baylis’s pack. Running her fingers over it, she closed her eyes as if reading a language only she could see.

“Hmm…” Her eyes flitted open and she shoved the bone into my hand. “Call the Morrigan.” She handed me the scepter.

“With my hands bound my magic doesn’t work.” A lie, but one I hoped she believed.

“Nice try,” she smirked. “Just call her.”

I sighed. “Morrigan, show yourself.” The magic of the scepter tugged at a knot in my chest, making me wince, but it subsided. That’s never happened before.

Smoke plumed from the mouth of the crow, taking the shape of the goddess.

“Ye—” Her blue eyes widened at the sight of Erissa. “You…” She crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes flitted between me and the mage, fitting the pieces of the puzzle together. “I will never allow you to control my army,” she spat at the mage. Two ancient creatures locked in a heated game of tug-o-war.

“Oh, I don’t think you have much say in the matter. As soon as I prick my finger and lay the first drop of blood, you will be mine for eternity.”

“Try it.” The Morrigan shot me an uneasy glance.

Erissa pulled a long needle from her robe and pricked her pointer finger.

“Who do you think designed the spell that imprisoned you all those years ago?”

“You…” Morrigan said through gritted teeth.

A smirk tugged at the corners of Erissa’s lips.

“Yes, me. So, I think I would know how to use it.” She pressed her finger into the carved bone.

Both the Morrigan and I winced, but nothing happened.

The smile disappeared from Erissa’s elegant face.

“No, it can’t be.”

“Looks like you’re out of practice, Mage.”

Erissa leaned in close so that their noses were practically touching.

“I will find a way to control your army. The Wells will give me the power.”

“My army will never fight for you. I’ll make sure of it.” She disappeared into the scepter once more.

Baylis and Alwin returned, rabbits in one hand, a bucket of water in the other.

“Cook those up quick and make sure these two get water,” Erissa said.

Baylis set to work skinning the creatures while Alwin and Kita poured us some water.

I sat up for the first time in nearly a day. The blood rushed to my head, blurring my vision.

Kita held the glass to my lips. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until the cool water touched my lips. Taking greedy gulps, I drank deeply. “More,” I said, my words clotted in my throat.

Baylis brought over some roasted rabbit, and Caiden and I hungrily tore into them. My stomach groaned, and my mouth salivated at the taste of the roasted flesh.

After the rest of them ate, they packed up the little cabin.

Erissa sighed. “Time to go. We have a very important meeting.”

My chest tightened at the thought.

She linked Caiden’s chain to mine with a snap of her fingers and handed one end to Kita. “Alwin, take up the rear with Baylis. Shoot anything that moves.”

“Why not just portal us? I know you have the power.”

She did not look back at me. “I can’t portal all of us. It would deplete my power.”